SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The Shaker Heights City Schools Board of Education went with a proven commodity in the job performance and leadership of David Glasner, selecting him Thursday (March 14) as the next superintendent for the school district.

Glasner was appointed last summer to the post of executive director of durriculum and Instruction for the district, after serving nearly four years as the principal at Shaker Heights Middle School.

In November, he was named interim principal at Shaker Heights High School after Jonathan Kuehnle was placed on administrative leave pending the conclusion of a review into a number of controversial staffing decisions in the district.

Effective July 1, Glasner will succeed interim Superintendent Stephen Wilkins, who will have served one year in that capacity.

Wilkins, formerly the assistant superintendent of business operations and human resources, was appointed after the departure of Gregory Hutchings when he returned to Alexandria, Va., to take over as superintendent there.

“I am truly grateful and humbled by the confidence the school board and the Shaker community have placed in me,” Glasner stated in a March 14 press release. “I look forward to working together toward our common goal of providing a high-quality education for all of our students.”

Glasner’s appointment as curriculum and instruction director also coincided with the devastating July 10 fire at Fernway Elementary School, and he was involved from the outset in the recovery plans there.

“Dr. Glasner possesses the passion, intellect and vision to lead our district to new levels of excellence,” said school board President Jeffrey Isaacs. “Time and again, he has stepped up and shown a willingness to take on big challenges."

Glasner holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from the University of Pennsylvania and another master’s degree in social studies education from Teacher College at Columbia University.

Starting out as a teacher and administrator with the New York City Department of Education, Glasner later earned a Ph.D. in urban education from Cleveland State University.

District officials noted that Glasner is also an International Baccalaureate Diploma graduate of Richmond Montgomery High School in Rockville, Md. The IB Programme is a big part of Shaker’s curriculum.

"We know the entire community will join us in committing to make his tenure a success," Isaacs added.

After a national search with a hiring consultant, as well substantial community input, Glasner was one of two finalists announced earlier this month by the school board.

The other finalist was Elizabeth Kirby from the Chicago Public Schools, and originally from the Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood. Kirby was hired Thursday (March 14) as the next superintendent for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District.

"This week alone, close to 500 students, parents, teachers, administrators, support staff and members of the community participated in small group sessions or public forums with the two finalists," Shaker school district spokesman Scott Stephens noted.

Many more viewed the finalists’ presentations via video and filled out online feedback forms.

“We thank the hundreds of community members who participated in focus groups, attended public forums or called or emailed board members,” Isaacs said. “Together, we as a community have come up with a leader who will be an outstanding superintendent.”